


The Ghost of Us

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Reaper76 [79]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Death, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Love, M/M, Memories, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23315794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Jack was still there; bound to every part of this house they’d shared. Quiet, but present. A warmth that couldn’t be forgotten, a love that wouldn’t die. A memory that couldn’t fade And there on the porch of the house that they’d shared together, they danced. Swaying back and forth to a rhythm all of their own, bathed in the light of the setting sun.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Series: Reaper76 [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1188655
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	The Ghost of Us

**Author's Note:**

> “The people you love become ghosts inside of you, and like this you keep them alive.”  
> ― Rob Montgomery
> 
> Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord [The Unholy Trinity](https://discord.gg/jdpcfy6XTB).

The isolated house wasn’t much to look at these days, the garden a tangled mess, grass and weeds high enough to hide the winding garden path and most of the front from view. That was the way Gabriel liked it. Not that many people would have thought to look for the former soldier and mercenary. A handful of people knew where he was, but even they rarely ventured out here these days, not that he could blame them. He wasn’t very good company these days.

His voice.

His laughter.

His everything had died with Jack. Given to the earth around this house that had been their home for far too short a time with the ashes of his lover, his husband. His Everything. Fareeha still called him once a week, pleading with him to come and stay with them, worry that grew ever close to grief colouring her voice each time. Sometimes he could hear Ana’s voice in her words, could see Jack standing by his side and watching him, telling him to accept, to reach out for the family that he had left.

He didn’t.

He loved her for it, he truly did. Amazed that even after all this time, she could see him through the same eyes as the child who had once called him ‘Uncle’ even knowing what he had done, what he had become. But she wasn’t Jack. And the thought of leaving this house, even as it started to fall down around his ears, was unthinkable. It was within these fall walls that they’d finally had their ‘forever’, two old men torn apart through war and their own stubbornness and anger finally coming together again. It had been down by the pond, now lost amongst the grass that they’d renewed their vows in front of the small group of family and friends they’d had left, a promise renewed, ‘until death do us part’ taking on new meaning.

It was in those four walls that they had loved and laughed. The Reaper had been locked away, appearing only in nightmares and the darkest nights. The Solider retired, peering out through haunted eyes and scared features. Together they’d healed, a word, a touch and a kiss at a time. A happiness neither of them had thought they would find again.

A joy that was written into every inch of this house. From the photos that covered every wall to the dent in the headboard where Gabriel had jerked awake from a nightmare. To the wine stain on the bottom step where he had startled Jack by sweeping him up into his arms.

Jack was still there; bound to every part of this house they’d shared.

Quiet, but present. A warmth that couldn’t be forgotten, a love that wouldn’t die. A memory that couldn’t fade and Gabriel followed in its footsteps, stepping out onto the porch as the sunset bathed the world in warm oranges and yellows, the sun that had always made him think of Jack warm against his chilled form.

“You’ve got old.” Gabriel smiled at the quiet voice, turning towards it, just as Jack stepped forward with a smile, head tilted to the side as he reached out. “It took you long enough.” It felt like a breeze dancing across his skin, brushing over ash-grey cheeks, uncaring of the uneven skin that formed and reformed in anticipation of a touch that wasn’t really there, before moving to tease at grey hair. “Still handsome, though.” A cool touch against his forehead, a press of lips, an echo of their last kiss.

“I think you’re biased,” Gabriel managed to tease back, voice thick as he leant into the touch, chasing the sensation that he knew wasn’t real. _You’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen,_ he remembered saying when they’d renewed their vowels, remembering how Jack had nervously brushed his fingers against the scars, uneasy in his old uniform. _Beautiful,_ he’d whispered on their last anniversary, seeing past the pale skin and dark shadows, the creeping signs of death laying claim to his husband. “My beautiful sunshine,” he whispered, stepping forward and reaching for Jack.

Jack met him halfway, hand falling away from his hair to draw him into a welcoming embrace. Gabriel shivered, missing the warmth that he had always associated with his husband, but banishing the thought, as Jack’s arms closed around him. It was like two pieces of a whole coming together, just as it had always been even when they were at one another’s throat. A homecoming. A belonging. His vision blurred, tears – of grief or joy – he wasn’t sure stinging as he let his head drop against Jack’s shoulder.

“I miss you…”

“I know,” Jack whispered, voice just as shaky. “But I am still here,” he added, before kissing Gabriel. A gentle, loving brush of the lips. A promise. A reminder. An echo of the vows they’d shared behind this very house. _I am still here, and I will always be here,_ a confirmation that they would never be apart again. That it was Jack and Gabriel to the end. Gabriel sniffled and nodded, his own hands coming up to clutch at Jack, as though it would be enough to keep him there, to make this moment endure.

_Don’t leave me…_

It was Jack who moved first, just a simple swaying back and forth. He had always been the dancer. Pulling a reluctant Gabriel onto the dancefloor at both their wedding and their vow renewal. Gabriel grumbled under his breath as he always did, Jack’s chuckling music to his ears. A song for them to dance to, and slowly, as he always did Gabriel gave into his rhythm.

There on the porch of the house that they’d shared together, they danced. Swaying back and forth to a rhythm all of their own, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

As the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, they slowed, leaning against one another. Two old men clinging to a life cut short, their everything and the promise of forever. Slowly, the feel of Jack’s arms around him began to fade away, and a chill press of lips against his had Gabriel looking up, smiling but tearful, as he watched his husband fade from view. Trembling hand closing on nothing, and the first tears falling as he closed his eyes and lifted his face to the fading warmth.

 _Wait for me, Jack. Just a little while longer…_


End file.
